Three TV commercials; one set in St. Louis, Missouri, another on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, and a quick review of telephone history.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Unknown
Sponsor: Bell System
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Communication: Telephone; Advertising: Television commercials; St. Louis, Missouri

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: uniQ - - November 27, 2010
Subject: "Unknown" ?! Who would be making commercials about the telephopne company?
Nevermind the first part of the ad. Start in at 2:00 and watch the second half. The pacing, music, images are all great. The rotary dial handset at the end is particularly good!

Reviewer: Steve Carras - - November 13, 2010
Subject: Regardings comments here
Okay, eveybody, chill out..I'm online friends with the guy ]Litlegrey] who made the comments here. Litlegrey, buddy, please keep the comments elsewhere, and George Bush and his mother happened regarding racist remarks to be much older, of a much older generation, like that "All this and Rabbit Stew" Bugs Bunny cartoon! THank god we live in a mor eenlightened time now. I'm glad you are concerned about the Katrina victims of five years back, but this isn't a politics forum. Nothing personal, litlegrey, but please take a chill pill, and I hope that you don't take that as a personal attack.:-)

Reviewer: mikhouston - - October 18, 2010
Subject: What Shot of the New Orleans Superdome???
What you identified as the Superdome has a big hole in the top of it (as in "no roof"). I hope the evacuation plans for St. Louis don't include a bunch of desperate people running to old Busch Stadium for shelter. Especially since it has been torn down. Your comments about the H. Katrina and President Bush make about as much sense as your creating in your little warped min mind a domed stadium finished in 1975 in a TV commercial from 1970

Reviewer: Seto-Kaiba_Is_Stupid - - February 1, 2009
Subject: Cool
Pretty nice commercials here, I like the 2nd one the most.

Reviewer: smcelectronics - - December 27, 2006
Subject: What does this have to do with President Bush?
Fun to watch telephone commercials.

Just what does this film have to do with
New Orleans or hurricanes or President Bush?

I thought that this "Review" feature was meant to review the films and not to be used by mentally-challenged individuals who have some kind of anti-American agenda.

Who-ever you are down below, get a life.
If you are so angry about President Bush,
why don't you leave this country-find a better
one, maybe Iran or North Korea.

Reviewer: Thoswallace - - August 8, 2006
Subject: They Said It Couldn't Be Done
These commercials aired as part of a phone company-sponsored documentary called "They Said It Couldn't Be Done," which highlighted several amazing feats of man. The commercials continued the theme of the show.

I was a kid in New Hampshire at the time and recall a bit of a buzz going around that our state was going to be featured on TV that night. I don't remember anything else about the show.

What's depressing is that these spots were probably the only ones that aired during the whole show. Even with a two-minute station break, that's only six minutes of commercials. Things certainly have changed.

In response to the review below, I think you may be reviewing the wrong commercials.

New Orleans is not featured in any of these commercials, and they were produced in 1970, a year before construction on the Superdome began.

Reviewer: litlgrey - - August 6, 2006
Subject: Depressing?
What's depressing is that shot of the New Orleans Superdome, having now become a permanent part of the Katrina catastrophe. Let us never forget the circumstances of that disaster, and the alleged American "President" who lied about it, and the vicious, racist words of this "President's" mother. THAT'S depressing. This promo film? Ehh... just a bit dry.

Reviewer: HelloNewman - - May 25, 2006
Subject: Tax Tax Tax
Notice that "tax" crept in in 1970 !!!! Nasty word

Reviewer: huskobon - - January 11, 2006
Subject: Nice
Don't forget to keep in touch with a phone.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - January 1, 2006
Subject: Doo doo doo dee doooÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
3 phone commercials here.. The first 2 use the same trippy theme and tells of two places around the US you can see, but use the telephone first to make arrangements! The third ad is great, as itÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs almost a crash course in telephone history. At the beginning of coast to coast service, it coast 20.70 cents for a call from New York to San Francisco. Now, it costs 70 cents for a three minute call! And NOW ItÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs even cheaper! So this little ad was quite interesting.

Reviewer: Ja30fitz - - July 31, 2005
Subject: Deeeeeeeeeee Deeeeeeee Deeeeeeee!!!
GREAT collection of old commericals for the Phone Company...the last commercial of the three was my favorite though because of the historical perspective it had.

Reviewer: AliceTeeple - - November 22, 2003
Subject: hahaha
Oh man, the "dee-dee-dee" guy singing in the background is enough to make me fall on the ground laughing. I loved the kinestasis (nice word!) advert with the old footage and the great photos. Wonderful editing work. I wonder who did it? If anyone finds out, let me know. This was a fun grouping of commercials.

Shotlist

St. Louis, Missouri (color faded)
Boats on Mississippi River
Zoom out from downtown buildings to show Gateway Arch
VS Arch Ð looking up from the base and different angles (good)
Arch with moon in background against night sky

CU finger dialing 603 on old 500 beige phone numbered (311) 555-2368 (color faded)
VS Mt. Washington Cog Railway in operation (New Hampshire)
VS man in 1970s phone booth

Kinestatis (still montage) commercial of telephone history emphazising how much price of transcontinental calls has gone down
Old, old footage of man planting American flag on top of telephone pole in 1915 at California/Nevada line
Zoom into manÕs hand holding white Trimline phone




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